PeopleSoft Applications Portal 9.1 PeopleBook: Using Portal Features

Managing Content Ratings and Usage Tracking (iTracker)

This chapter provides an overview of content ratings and usage tracking and discusses how to:

Manage content ratings.
View content ratings results.
Deploy iTracker.
View iTracker usage results.
Delete iTracker usage results.

Understanding Content Ratings and Usage Tracking (iTracker)

Reaction to portal content can be monitored through the following mechanisms:

Giving users an opportunity to express their opinions.
Tracking which items users access.

PeopleSoft Applications Portal includes a content ratings feature to manage user feedback and an iTracker (the invisible usage tracker) to track usage of content. To use these features, the monitored content must use the Context Manager and the Dynamic Content template (PTCXM_DYNAMIC_CON_TEMPLATE). The Dynamic Content template should be configured to include the Content Ratings pagelet (PAPP_SURVEY_LINKS_SCR). You then need to associate the menu item to the poll using the Manage Content Ratings component.

Note. If you specify an Context Manager configuration for specific menu items, and you want to deploy a content rating poll to these menu items, you should also assign the Content Ratings pagelet to those menu items in the Context Manager.

Understanding Content Ratings

The content ratings feature enables you to:

Configure single-question polls.
Assign questions to a menu item or a portal-hosted unregistered URL.
Monitor user feedback.

Content ratings can be set up for managed content and for menu items.

Content ratings administrators can associate multiple content ratings polls with any portal-hosted content, and a poll’s questions can be effective-dated to change over time.

The content ratings feature can also be used more broadly as a poll taker. For example, you can ask a range of questions of your users that are not necessarily tied to the content that they are viewing. In those circumstances, we recommend that you deploy a poll to one heavily trafficked menu item or portal-hosted URL. That way, results that you see on the Poll page and Results pages will be grouped properly for non-content related questions, as opposed to being spread out over multiple content items.

Results are accessible to poll respondents on the Content Ratings page when navigating from the Content Ratings pagelet. They are also accessible on the advanced results pages available to content ratings managers and administrators. Results pages display data by menu item, content item or URL.

PeopleSoft Applications Portal includes a preconfigured content ratings poll named CONTENTRATINGS. This poll asks the user to rate the effectiveness of a page on a scale of one to five, with one being the low rating. The results for the CONTENTRATINGS poll are accessible by the portal search feature, which means that a portal search takes these results into account when it returns and ranks search results. While you can configure additional content ratings or general polls, they are not automatically considered in the portal search results.

See Integrating Content Ratings into Search Results.

Important! You can customize the text of the CONTENTRATINGS poll’s title or question, but you should not change the poll ID or the answer configuration.

Content Ratings for Managed Content

Content ratings are available for items of managed content only when content is displayed in the content WorkCenter—that is, when the content in a WorkCenter option is enabled on the Installation Options page. When this option is enabled, the content WorkCenter includes the Content Rating pagelet in a related content frame. The default poll for the Content Rating pagelet is also defined on the Installation Options page. However, content ratings administrators can use the Managed Content page documented in this chapter to override the default poll for individual items of managed content.

The following illustrates content displayed in the content WorkCenter with responses to the default poll in the Content Rating pagelet:

Content WorkCenter displaying the Content Rating pagelet

See Defining Installation Options.

Content Ratings for Menu Items

Content ratings for menu items (also referred to as content references) are configured through Applications Portal’s Context Manager framework. You must assign the Content Ratings template pagelet to the menu item within Context Manager. In addition, you must assign one or more polls to the menu item on the Menu Items page discussed in this chapter.

When users access a page that is being polled, the Content Ratings pagelet containing a link to the poll is displayed in the Context Manager frame. When the user clicks the poll link, the content ratings question appears in a new browser window. A user can answer each content ratings question only once for any given menu item or URL. However, if the poll is deployed to many different content items, the user can answer it again for each different menu item.

The following illustrates a menu item configured with the Context Manager frame displaying the Content Ratings pagelet:

Context Manager frame with the Content Ratings pagelet

See Understanding Context Manager.

Understanding Usage Tracking (iTracker)

iTracker is an invisible tracking system that can monitor the pages (also referred to as content references or menu items) that a user accesses. In addition, iTracker can be deployed to track users’ access to blog posts, discussion posts, and all content management system items. An iScript stores the user ID, object ID, and date and time information each time that a tracked item is accessed.

For menu items including portal content available through unified navigation, iTracker stores the PORTALCONTENTURL parameters, which is the portal URL less any parameter values. For unregistered URL tracking, iTracker uses the PORTALACTUALURL parameter value, which is the portal URL plus any parameter values. However, if the PORTALACTUALURL parameter value exceeds 254 characters in length, the system will use the PORTALCONTENTURL parameter.

Important! iTracker tracks usage only when users access menu items via the drop-down menu. Access to menu items via other mechanisms such as menu pagelets, navigation collections, DFAN pages, and so on does not produce iTracker usage data.

For menu items, iTracker data is stored in the PS_EO_PE_SR_ITRACK table. The results are available through the Usage Results by Menu Item page.Two queries also provide iTracker results: EO_PE_SR_TRKCONTHITS_QRY (returns the number of hits for a specific item) and EO_PE_SR_TRKCONTUSRS_QRY (returns the number of unique users who accessed that item).

You assign menu items or unregistered URLs to the iTracker in the same way that you specify which content you want to associate with standard content ratings polls.

For blog posts, discussion posts, and content management system items, iTracker data is stored in the PS_EO_PE_SR_OBJTRK table. Two queries provide iTracker results: EO_PE_SR_TRKCONTHITS_QRY (returns the number of hits for a specific item) and EO_PE_SR_TRKCONTUSRS_QRY (returns the number of unique users who accessed that item). These results are also available when the EO_PE_SR_ITRK_SBP subpage is added to the component that is used to display these items. In addition, when content has been configured to be displayed in the content WorkCenter template, usage tracking is provided in the related content frame.

Managing Content Ratings

This section provides an overview of content rating management and discusses how to:

Define a content ratings poll.
Add a poll question.
Assign polls to menu items.
Assign polls to content items.
Assign content ratings result viewers.
Associate polls to unregistered URLs.

Understanding Management of Content Ratings

Access to the delivered content ratings configuration pages is granted by role. Content ratings managers can access the Content Ratings page, Menu Items page and Managed Content page. The Result Viewers page and Advanced page can only be accessed by content ratings administrators as usage of these pages require a more technical understanding of portal operations.

Pages Used to Manage Portal Content Ratings

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Content Ratings	EO_PE_SR_SRV_SELCT	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings	Define high-level information, such as the poll ID and description. Add, edit, and delete poll questions.
Question Details	EO_PE_SR_SRV_CONFG	Click the Add a Question button on the Content Ratings page. Click the Edit button on the Content Ratings page.	Enter a poll question and possible responses.
Menu Items	EO_PE_SR_CONTENT	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Menu Items	Assign a menu item to the poll ID.
Managed Content	EO_PE_SR_SRV_CM	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Managed Content	Assign a piece of managed content to the poll ID.
Results Viewers	EO_PE_SR_SRV_USERS	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Results Viewers	Grant user access to results for the poll ID. Access is granted to the View Results page.
Advanced	EO_PE_SR_ADVANCED	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Advanced	Assign an unregistered URL to the poll ID. This page is intended for advanced users with an understanding of portal-hosted URL formats.

Defining a Content Ratings Poll

Access the Content Ratings page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings).

Poll ID

Displays the identifier for the poll.

Poll Type

Displays the default value of Content Rating.

Active

Select the check box to make the poll active on the Content Ratings pagelet. The poll will not be available on the Content Ratings pagelet unless this box is selected.

Show Results to Respondents

Select to enable respondents to view the poll results when they have completed the poll and each subsequent time they access the poll’s menu item or URL.

Description

Enter a description of the poll.

Question Details

Publish Date	Displays the publish date entered on the Question Details page.
Expire Date	The value that appears is based on the publication date of subsequent questions. The current question is retired when the next question is published.
Question Title	Displays the value entered on the Question Details page. This value will appear as a link on the Content Ratings pagelet.
Preview	Click to display the poll in a new browser window. A preview is available once information on the Question Details page has been completed and saved for the associated question.
Edit	Click to access the Question Details page, where you can edit the associated question.
Delete	Click to delete the associated question. You will be prompted to confirm your deletion.
Add a Question	Click to access the Question Details page, where you can enter a poll question.
Delete this Poll	Click to delete the poll. You will be prompted to confirm the deletion.

Adding a Poll Question

Access the Question Details page (click the Add a Question button on the Content Ratings page).

Assigning Polls to Menu Items

Access the Menu Items page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Menu Items).

Important! This assignment is site-specific and defaults to the site that you are logged onto. If the same menu item is in multiple sites, you will need to make the assignment for each instance.

Assign To

Select the from the following values:

Select Menu Items. Select to be able to specify the menu items with which you want to associate the poll. The Menu Items scroll area displays.

All Menu Items. Select to associate all menu items to the poll.

Note. You must also associate the menu item with Context Manager's dynamic content template plus the Content Ratings pagelet for the poll to appear on the Content Ratings pagelet for the menu item.

Menu Items

The Menu Items grid displays when the Assign To field value is set to Select Menu Items..

Menu Item	Select the menu item you want to associate with the survey poll.
Menu Item Label	The link text that will appear for the menu item in the portal menu.
Menu Folder Label	The text that identifies the menu folder.
Active	Select to activate the poll for the selected menu item. If cleared, the link to the poll will not display on the Content Ratings pagelet.
Add Menu Item	Click to add a new menu item to the page.

Assigning Polls to Content Items

Access the Managed Content page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Managed Content).

Use the Managed Content page to override the default content ratings poll that is visible when content is displayed in the content WorkCenter template.

Note. The Managed Content page is invisible and unavailable until the content in a WorkCenter option is enabled on the Installation Options page.

Content ID	Select the piece of managed content that will use this poll instead of the default content ratings poll.
Title	The title of the selected piece of managed content.

See Defining Installation Options.

Assigning Content Ratings Result Viewers

Access the Result Viewers page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Result Viewers).

Note. If the selected poll appears for multiple menu items (CREFs), security access is granted to users to view the results for all instances. You are not granting CREF-specific access.

User ID

Select the user you want to be able to view results for the selected poll.

Note. Selected user IDs must have security access to the View Content Ratings Results page and Usage Results by Menu Item pages in the portal registry.

Add a User

Click to add another user to the list of result viewers.

See Viewing Content Ratings Results, Viewing iTracker Usage Results.

Associating Polls to Unregistered URLs

Access the Advanced page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings, Advanced).

You can associate a poll with an unregistered portal-proxied URL. For example, you can register a pagelet or page that contains links to articles or documents, such as External News, that you do not want to register separately. Use this page to associate a content ratings poll with the news articles or documents that are linked to from the registered page.

Note. Polls can only be associated with the first link off of a registered page. Any links that are accessed off of the unregistered pages cannot be associated with polls.

URL ID	Enter the name that you want to use to identify the URL. This name should be unique for each URL ID entry.
URL	Enter the URL to which you want to deploy the poll. Oracle recommends that you navigate to the URL in the browser and copy the URL in the address bar into this field. The system converts this entry to uppercase text and resolves any HTML codes to the actual characters they represent. Note. The URL cannot be longer than 254 characters.
Active	Select to display the poll ID for the URL. If this option is clear, the user will not see the poll ID link when accessing the URL.
Add a URL	Click to enter an additional URL.

Additional Conditions for Non-Menu Item URLs

For the poll to appear for a URL, the following conditions must be met:

The portal must proxy the URL entered. As such, you must access the URL from a page or pagelet that is registered in the portal. For example, the URL could be to a news article referenced off of a portal home page.

Note. The registered referring page on which the link to the unregistered URL appears should use an HTML template. If the referring page is a homepage pagelet, there are no special configuration considerations to take into account. If you are using a portal CREF as the referring page, make sure that the CREF has a template specified, and that it is an HTML template. If the survey does not appear on the URL when you access it, double-check to make sure that the referring CREF is not using the Context Manager template itself.

See PeopleTools 8.52: PeopleTools Portal Technologies PeopleBook, “Understanding Portal Technology,” Portal Servlets.

See PeopleTools 8.52: PeopleTools Portal Technologies PeopleBook, “Understanding Portal Technology,” Page-Based Template Proxying.
The URLs to which you want to associate a poll must also use the dynamic content template to render the poll in the Context Manager frame. Since this is not a registered URL, you will need to specify that the dynamic content template is designated as the portal's default template. Making this setting change will have special implications for your portal installation.

See PeopleTools 8.52: PeopleTools Portal Technologies PeopleBook, “Working with Portal Templates.”

Viewing Content Ratings Results

This section discusses how to:

View ratings results.
View results by menu item.
View responses.
View comments.

Pages Used to View Content Ratings Results

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Content Ratings Results	EO_PE_SR_SURVEY_VW	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Content Ratings Results	Access results of the active content ratings polls to which you have been granted access. Only users and roles that have been selected on the Result Viewers page for the poll ID can access information on this page. Click the View Results link to access the Results by Menu Item page, where you can access poll results broken down by menu item. The View Results link does not display if there are no results to view.
Results by Menu Item	EO_PE_SR_CRF_INQ	Click the View Results link on the View Content Ratings Results page.	View results of the selected poll for both active and inactive menu items broken down by menu item. Click the View Responses link to access the View Responses page, where you can view current responses for the selected menu item. The View Responses link does not display if there are no responses to view for the menu item.
View Responses	EO_PE_SR_VWRSLTS	Click the View Results link on the Results by Menu Item page.	View current responses for the selected menu item. Click the View Comments link to access the View Comments page, where you can view any comments entered for the selected response. If no comments are available, the View Comments link does not display.
View Comments	EO_PE_SR_VWCMTS	Click the View Comments link on the View Responses page.	View all comments entered for the selected response.

Deploying iTracker

This section provides an overview and discusses how to:

Assign iTracker to menu items.
Enable iTracker for tracking other items.

Understanding Deployment of iTracker

iTracker is the only invisible usage tracker poll allowed by the portal. You cannot manipulate poll details, however you can define where iTracker is deployed:

iTracker can be configured to monitor usage of specific menu items (also known as content references), including remote menu items available through unified navigation.
iTracker can be enabled to track usage of blog posts, discussion posts, and all content management system items.

Assigning iTracker to Menu Items

To assign iTracker to track usage of menu items (also referred to as content references):

Access the Content Ratings page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Maintain Content Ratings).
Select the ITRACKER poll ID value.
Ensure that the Active option is selected for the iTracker poll. (This is the default value.)

Note. The Question Summary group box that displays on the page for content ratings poll IDs does not display because iTracker does not require the entry of any questions.

See Defining a Content Ratings Poll.
Access the Menu Items page.
Click the Add a Menu Item button to add a menu item to track:
Click the Select button:
Select the node, portal, and any menu item registered in the portal including remote menu items available through unified navigation.
Ensure that the Active option is selected for each menu item that you wish to have tracked by iTracker. (The default is that this option is unselected.)
Optionally, access the Advanced page and assign iTracker to any unregistered portal-hosted URLs.

See Associating Polls to Unregistered URLs.

Note. The Result Viewers page that displays for content ratings poll IDs does not display for iTracker. To control access to iTracker results, limit access to the View Usage Tracker Results page to only appropriate user IDs and roles using PeopleTools security.

Enabling iTracker for Tracking Other Items

To enable iTracker to track usage of blog posts, discussion posts, and all content management system items:

Access the Installation Options page (Portal Administration, System Data, Installation Options).
Select the iTracker option to enable content tracking.
Save your changes.

See Defining Installation Options.

Viewing iTracker Usage Results

This section discuses how to view iTracker usage results.

Page Used to View iTracker Usage Results

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Usage Results by Menu Item	EO_PE_SR_USG_INQ	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Usage Tracker Results	View a list of active menu items in iTracker and the total number of visits and unique visitors for each menu item.

Viewing Usage Results

Access the Usage Results by Menu Item page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Usage Tracker Results).

Menu Item Folder

Displays the name of the menu folder that contains this menu item.

Menu Item Label

Displays the name of the menu item.

Menu Item

Displays the ID for the menu item.

Total Visitors

Displays the number of unique visitors to each menu item.

Total Visits

Displays the total number of visits to each menu item.

Deleting iTracker Usage Results

This section discuses how to delete iTracker usage results.

Page Used to Delete iTracker Usage Results

Page Name	Definition Name	Navigation	Usage
Delete Usage Tracker Results	EO_PE_SR_DELTRKDTA	Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Delete Usage Tracker Results	View a list of active menu items in iTracker and the total number of visits and visitors to each.

Deleting Usage Results

Access the Delete Usage Tracker Results page (Portal Administration, Context, Content Ratings, Delete Usage Tracker Results).

From Date

Enter a starting date for the data to be deleted.

To Date

Enter an end date for the data to be deleted.

Type

Select the type of iTracker data to be deleted:

All iTracker data.

Blog post data only.

Content management system data only.

Content reference data only.

Discussion forum post data only.

Delete Usage Tracker Results

Click to delete the data.

Note. There is no confirmation that the deletion occurred.

Poll ID	Displays the identifier for the poll.
Poll Type	Displays the default value of Content Rating.
Active	Select the check box to make the poll active on the Content Ratings pagelet. The poll will not be available on the Content Ratings pagelet unless this box is selected.
Show Results to Respondents	Select to enable respondents to view the poll results when they have completed the poll and each subsequent time they access the poll’s menu item or URL.
Description	Enter a description of the poll.

Menu Item Folder	Displays the name of the menu folder that contains this menu item.
Menu Item Label	Displays the name of the menu item.
Menu Item	Displays the ID for the menu item.
Total Visitors	Displays the number of unique visitors to each menu item.
Total Visits	Displays the total number of visits to each menu item.

From Date	Enter a starting date for the data to be deleted.
To Date	Enter an end date for the data to be deleted.
Type	Select the type of iTracker data to be deleted: All iTracker data. Blog post data only. Content management system data only. Content reference data only. Discussion forum post data only.
Delete Usage Tracker Results	Click to delete the data. Note. There is no confirmation that the deletion occurred.